My Halal Kitchen | Inspiration for Wholesome Living » roastedhttp://myhalalkitchen.com
with Yvonne MaffeiTue, 31 Mar 2015 03:08:14 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Classic Roasted Chicken with Fall Vegetableshttp://myhalalkitchen.com/roasted-chicken-fall-vegetables/
http://myhalalkitchen.com/roasted-chicken-fall-vegetables/#commentsThu, 20 Nov 2014 15:34:00 +0000http://myhalalkitchen.com/?p=18799Everyone loves a classic roasted chicken and there are countless recipes in the world on to make the perfect one, and I certainly have my own that I stick to pretty much every time I have a craving for the comfort food that it is.What’s my secret? Two things: 1) Butter and 2) fresh herbs. ...

]]>Everyone loves a classic roasted chicken and there are countless recipes in the world on to make the perfect one, and I certainly have my own that I stick to pretty much every time I have a craving for the comfort food that it is.What’s my secret?

Two things:

1) Butter and 2) fresh herbs.

They’re stuffed right under the bird’s skin and before roasting so that you don’t need to put much, if any oil on top or worry about basting the bird while cooking, either. You can also season the butter prior to stuffing it, but I simply season the top of the bird because it’s just less messy that way.

This beautiful bird below is a Crescent Halal chicken (whole roaster) that I purchase at my local Joe Caputo & Sons. They’re antibiotic-free, hormone-free, vegetarian-fed, 100% halal raised and processed (I’ve actually seen how it’s done, farm to fork both here and here).

I also tie the bird with cooking twine- once around the feet and once or twice around the body both vertically and horizontally so that it will cook more evenly and the wing tips don’t burn. You can also do this with turkey, on a much larger scale of course.

Speaking of temperature, it’s imperative to check the internal temperature of any meat and to do it away from the bone. It’s best to have a meat thermometer on hand for things like roasted chicken, turkey, pot roasts, lamb shanks, etc. All you have to do is know what’s the ‘done’ or ‘safe’ temperature for the type of meat and cut. In the case of roasted chicken, 165° F away from the bone (which is hotter) is considered safe by the USDA. Enter our giveaway here, sponsored by Crescent Foods, for your very own meat thermometer.

I also love to have vegetables with my chicken, pretty much any root vegetables like potatoes and carrots, especially in the Fall and Winter seasons, although I don’t cook them with the chicken (i.e. same pan); instead I put the bird on its own roasting pan and let it have its space and then in another part of the oven like on a separate rack, I let the vegetables roast with their own seasons, and of course olive oil and/or butter, too. It prevents the bird from sitting in oil while cooking and then worrying about all the separate cooking temperatures to deal with.

Enjoy the warmth of being indoors and cozy with family and friends over wonderful, delicious and healthy halal food this winter and give this recipe a try to see if it’ll be your go-to roasted chicken recipe, too.

Classic Roasted Chicken with Fall Vegetables

2014-11-20 01:27:29

Make a tasty, homemade roasted chicken without a lot of fuss, mess, or time spent checking on it in the oven. This classic roasted chicken recipe will have you coming back to make it again and again.

Wash and pat dry chicken. To the butter, add herbs and seasonings (optional). If adding herbs to the butter, use a piping bag or plastic bag with the corner snipped off then add the seasoned butter and push to the edge, holding the top with your fist. Pipe the butter under the skin of the chicken's breast. Once it's all piped, push down on the skin of the chicken and spread out the butter with your fingers. You can also do this with plain butter, or simply take small pats of butter and push under the skin.

Next, wrap the chicken's wings with the legs to hold them in and tie tightly. Do the same with the feet.

Place the chicken on a roasting pan or rack inside a pan, breast side up. Pour ½ cup water at the bottom of the pan to allow for moisture during cooking.

Bake the chicken, uncovered, for 45 minutes. In the meantime, clean and cut the vegetables.

When the chicken has already cooked for 25 minutes, add vegetables to a separate roasting pan, then season and salt them. Place on the bottom rack of the oven, uncovered.

Turn heat up to 375°F and cook another 20 minutes or until chicken is brown and reads at least 165°F on an internal meat thermometer.

Remove both the chicken and the vegetables and place on a serving platter together. Remove the fresh rosemary and the kitchen twine from the roaster and serve.

]]>http://myhalalkitchen.com/roasted-chicken-fall-vegetables/feed/2Creamy Pasta with Roasted Vegetableshttp://myhalalkitchen.com/creamy-pasta-with-roasted-vegetables/
http://myhalalkitchen.com/creamy-pasta-with-roasted-vegetables/#commentsTue, 25 Sep 2012 06:10:29 +0000http://www.myhalalkitchen.com/?p=11779A day in the life of recipe testing goes a lot like this: Creamy Pasta with Roasted Vegetables -shop for fresh ingredients and bring them home to sort out -wash and dry fresh herbs and produce -chop everything -get out the camera, notebook and pen and jot down the step-by-step procedure of each recipe -take ...

-get out the camera, notebook and pen and jot down the step-by-step procedure of each recipe

-take a snapshot at every interesting point

That’s mostly before all the cooking.

Don’t even get me started about cleaning…

That’s why I’m always able to laugh a little at myself when I realize that some of the very best meals happen when I’m relaxed, enjoying the moment of cooking and paying closer attention to the smells, colors and textures than to minutiae of how perfectly cut and clean everything always looks. Though that’s important, it also interrupts a very good flow of cooking.

And pasta has my back in that area every single time.

How wrong can you go with fat pasta noodles, fresh vegetables, fresh herbs and cream?

So, on Saturday afternoon I had three burners going on the stove with various cooking times that all needed to be photographed and annoted in my notebook that was somewhere around the corner.

My hands were wet and all the towels were used up.

And I was reminded that we needed to eat lunch some time in this century–and it wouldn’t be anything on the stove- that was all for tomorrow.

I dug deep into the cave that is called my fridge and dug out some leftover pasta from Friday night (it’s amazing what I find in there sometimes). It was plain with only roasted tomatoes and a few spices and olive oil and that just wouldn’t do for leftovers because it would end up dry when re-heated.

Out the door I went to snip a few basil leaves from my plant that now resides in a light-filled basement window to save it from the frost; I took a few pieces of roasted squash from the soup I was preparing and found the gem of all refrigerated gems: heavy whipping cream. This is a winning combo.

In this recipe you can start from scratch with a fresh batch of uncooked pasta, but if you have any leftover cooked pasta of any type, this is a great way to bring it back to life and give it a whole new flavor than it had the day before…

If you don’t have them already, roast the tomatoes (directions here) and the squash (much like this) separately. Let cool.

If you have uncooked pasta, follow the directions according to package instructions and once finished, drain the pasta. Add some olive oil and let cool. Set aside.

Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes and squash roughly, keeping the chunks as large or as small as you like.

In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil on medium-low heat. Add the cooked pasta, roasted veggies, capers and crushed garlic. Mix thoroughly and allow everything to heat up evenly but not to fry (keeping the heat minimal).

Pour in the heavy cream, 2 tablespoons at a time, until you reach the desired creaminess. Do not let the mixture boil, but if it does, remove from heat immediately. Mix and stir the cream as you add it in, then remove from heat and serve at once. Top with freshly chopped basil, if you have it.

]]>http://myhalalkitchen.com/creamy-pasta-with-roasted-vegetables/feed/3Oven Roasted Tomatoeshttp://myhalalkitchen.com/oven-roasted-tomatoes/
http://myhalalkitchen.com/oven-roasted-tomatoes/#commentsSun, 22 May 2011 01:55:52 +0000http://www.myhalalkitchen.com/?p=6902Tomatoes may not be summer-ready here in the Midwest, but there’s no shortage of beautiful ones in the grocery store, perhaps coming in from California. I picked up some beautiful Roma variety, ripening them on the counter for several days before roasting. After roasting, I really wasn’t sure what exactly I waould even use them for, but ...

]]>Tomatoes may not be summer-ready here in the Midwest, but there’s no shortage of beautiful ones in the grocery store, perhaps coming in from California. I picked up some beautiful Roma variety, ripening them on the counter for several days before roasting.

After roasting, I really wasn’t sure what exactly I waould even use them for, but I knew they would be beautiful and delicious.

After oven-roasting (they can also be grilled, too, using the recipe below), they’re wonderful when pureed to make a simple pasta or pizza sauce, or just threw them on top of other vegetable mixes, in cooked rice or pasta, on top of meat or fish. You can really do whatever you like with them.

Here’s how to get them beautifully roasted in the oven:

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

7 Roma tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1-2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

good quality olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut each tomatoe in half and place them face up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Add salt, dried parsley and dried basil (as well as any other herbs you enjoy) to each tomato half.

Drizzle the tomaotes generously with olive oil.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and process according to the recipe you will use it in.